Liverpool coaches yelled at Alisson to kick the ball out of play against Bournemouth following an injury, only for the goalkeeper’s mistake to lead to a goal for the opposition
18:36, 24 Jan 2026Updated 19:36, 24 Jan 2026
Arne Slot could not have been pleased with his side’s first half performance against Bournemouth(Image: Getty Images)
Against Bournemouth on Saturday, both Liverpool boss Arne Slot and first assistant coach Sipke Hulshoff ordered Reds goalkeeper Alisson to put the ball out of play with defender Joe Gomez struggling with an injury.
The Brazilian was unable to do so. Shortly after, Cherries defender James Hill connected with a darting Alex Jimenez to give Bournemouth a 2-0 lead within the first half, leaving Slot furious. The Reds were still down to 10 players at the time of Jimenez’s goal.
Liverpool answered through Virgil Van Dijk, making the score 2-1 at the half, before Dominik Szoboszlai equalized late on with an excellent free kick. Yet there was still time for Bournemouth to snatch a 3-2 win thanks to Amine Adli’s last-minute goal.
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After Jimenez’s goal, Slot swapped out the oft-injured Gomez for midfield Wataru Endo to line up next to Van Dijk, a display of just how injured the Liverpool team is currently.
Giovanni Leoni is out for the year with an ACL tear, and Ibrahima Konate is missing after the death of his father. The Reds were already light at centerback depth, forcing Van Dijk to play week in, week out.
Slot’s may have had his current squad depth in mind when he ordered Alisson to kick the ball out.
Alisson is in his eighth year as the Liverpool starting goalkeeper(Image: Getty Images)
It hasn’t been a vintage season for either Alisson or the Liverpool back line in general. The club entered the game, having played 22 Premier League contests and conceded 32 goals.
The side conceded 41 total league goals in both of the last two seasons with a relatively similar backline (aside from the outgoing Trent Alexander-Arnold). One of those seasons came with Slot in charge, the other with Jurgen Klopp.
Even during Liverpool’s poor 2022-23 season, where the club finished out of the Champions League places for the first time in nearly a decade, the team only conceded 47 goals.
Bournemouth’s Alex Jimenez slots through Alisson’s legs on Saturday(Image: Getty Images)
The Reds have never conceded 60 goals in a Premier League season. The most the side has ever allowed is 55 (twice, in 1992/93 and 1993/94).
It’s unclear if Alisson deliberately chose not to follow orders from the beleaguered Slot; he may have just not heard him. The Dutch manager, after winning the Premier League in his first campaign, hasn’t had the same luck in his second.
His situation is not helped by Liverpool’s failed pursuit of centerback Marc Guehi, long a target of the club who recently signed for Manchester City during the winter window.
The Reds have a bit of a fixture crunch upcoming, with further FA Cup and Champions League commitments compounding an already frequent Premier League schedule.
At the moment, the diminutive Endo may be forced to step in at centerback on a regular basis.